Masami Teraoka: From Tradition to Technology, the Floating World Comes of Age

Born in 1936 in Japan, Masami Teraoka has lived in Los Angeles and Hawaii. Throughout his career, he has combined the stylistic conventions of the 19th-century Japanese woodblock print with commentary on contemporary society in Japan and the West. This book examines the full range of his work. His paintings of the 70s--McDonalds Hamburgers Invading Japan and the Wave Series--won a wide audience, with their subtle and amusing parodies. As he took AIDS as a theme, the anguish of his paintings was relieved by bright colors and lovely faces. Recently, images from Hieronymus Bosch and Bosnia inform paintings that are dark, brooding and disturbing. While he continues to paint bright and witty beach scenes, other works are vicious and foreboding.